Hal Steinbrenner says Aroldis Chapman’s past domestic violence accusations do not stand in the way of Yankees fans loving the reliever.
The New York Yankees signed Chapman to a record five-year, $86 million deal over the offseason, months after they traded him the Chicago Cubs midseason. Chapman helped the Cubs to a World Series title but got to choose his next home as a free agent and decided he wanted to return to New York.
Many fans have been conflicted about supporting Chapman in light of his domestic violence case. Florida police say Chapman choked his girlfriend, pushed her against a wall, and fired a gun eight times during an argument with her in Oct. 2015.
Chapman was suspended 30 days by MLB last year despite not having any charges filed against him.
Steinbrenner believes Chapman is so electrifying that Yankees fans love him.
“They love him,’’ Steinbrenner told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “There are so few baseball players that I feel can really get fans to buy a ticket and brings their kids to their game, and he’s one of them.”
Steinbrenner also believes fans will forget about Chapman’s domestic violence case.
“Look, he admitted he messed up. He paid the penalty. Sooner or later, we forget, right? That’s the way we’re supposed to be in life. He did everything right, and said everything right, when he was with us.”
Whether fans forget or not remains to be seen. In the meantime, Yankees fans will have perhaps the most dominant closer in the game on their roster entering the 2017 season.
